About the enigmatic William Spivey…

The most magical things happen when you simply converse with a perfect stranger. And so the story goes like this… Facebook friends for well over a year… Never chatted. Just one of those things where you follow some of the folks who follow your friends because they often show up intelligent, funny and interesting.

One great conversation about writing and writers and books and story telling led to about 365 conversations; all leading to that faithful suggestion: Why aren’t you doing this for money? You are quite good. And so a literary agency and publishing house just appeared! Like well-oiled magic! Well actually it was a long-held dream deferred, a story to be told later.

Now, about the writerly Mr. Spivey. I would say in my professional opinion he has a fine eye for reporting stories. He is now learning the fine art of telling the story. He has the best listening skills I’ve ever witnessed… Second only to God. Seriously, he has great recall, which for a writer can be golden. He has an amazing ability to listen intently, and remember with little effort and without prompts. I remain impressed; and very careful what I say, lest it comes back to haunt me.

He seems to be drawn to romance writing. Maybe because some of the stories are lifted from his own life. He writes romance with a softer hand than expected…He is a man of great height and girth…6’6″ I beleive. Anyway, he cares what is said and how it’s said. He would argue the point that I believe he has a sweeping romantic nature, that can be and has been coaxed out of him (and when I say coaxed, I mean DRAGGED). But just as he is embracing romance writing, he always walks on the wild side. An affinity for the macabre lurks just at the breaking surface of intelligence and sardonic humor. He takes a bit of pleasure in ending characters with a few sentences. I try to allow for some of that to show up in stories and works-in-progress. Who knows, a thriller may spill out of him in the very near future.

The everyday writing takes place on his blog www.EnigmaInBlack.com Here is where he takes on the topical newsworthy pieces making their cycle around the world-wide web. He is quite at home waxing poetic on issues of politics and justice and grandchildren shenanigans. Blogging is about discipline. Content has to be put out. So far, he’s been ahead of the game. Growing a readership is no easy feat, and often the heady topic of our discussions. What else can we do? Patience grasshopper… You just write I say. Just write.

And then there’s that whole Fisk University thing… HBCUs are their own universe and we are some of the most loyal college educated folks on the planet. However, Fisk University famously known for their loyal and deeply caring alumni. This is important because, here is where you can trace the roots of William’s writing and story telling by these early life shaping experiences. If the moon is properly aligned and he’s feeling jovial, you may get a beauty of a Fisk story out of him. Or maybe not… Often not.

Here’s an interview from 3 months ago when Will was my guest on LoveBabz LoveTalk WNHH 103.5-LP Community Radio. I’m not sure he liked the interview very much, I thought he did a good job, although a bit nervous. But not noticeably so. Just like anything, the more you do it the better you become.

In the days, weeks, and months ahead. There will be more updates about the writing career of Mr. Spivey and the other talented writers joining this adventure.

Note: This photo is how I imagine he looks whenever I call to talk writing and more writing and demanding write more damn it! Oh, I can just hear the tone in the voice denoting annoyance.

Additional Note: I run a Black newspaper. Editor-in-chief, The Inner-City News in New Haven, CT. Mr. Spivey is a contributing writer and we are delighted to have his voice reflected in our publication.

Do you have a manuscript?

Maybe you've always dreamed of writing something... A best selling novel, a chap book of poetry, a children's series. Let's have a conversation. Let's see if there is an adventure to be had! I think so, but do you? Reach out to us and we'll reach back!